Alabama	.	88

sometimes checked.	.

	.	“Sides working de fields and spinning, sometimes I‘d. hope wid de cooking up at de B1~ House when de real cook was sick or us had. a passel of company. Us cooked on a great, big fireplace what had arms hanging out over de coals to hang pots on to bile. Den us had three4egged skillets what set right over de coals for frying and sech like. Us cooked sho‘ ‘nuff bread In dei~i days, ash cakes, de best thing you ever et. Dey ain‘t nothing like dat dese days.

	‘II was sold oncet before I left Virginia. Den I was brung Jovm to Alabama and. sold from de block for ~l,~OO to Mr. Sam Rainey, at Camp Hill, Ala. I still worked in de fields, but I would cook for de white folks and hope around de Big House on

special 1casions. Our overseer was Mr. Gre,~n Ross, and he was	I • a bad one, too. Mean, my goodness~ He‘d whup you in a minute.

He‘d put you in de buck, tie your feet and den set out to whup you right.

	“He would get us slaves up ‘fore day blowing on his big horn ~nd us would work ‘twell plumb dark. All de little niggers‘d get up, too, and go up to de Bi~ House to be fed from wooden bowls. Den dey‘d be called ag‘in ‘fore us come from de fields and put to bed by dark. I useta stop by de spring house to get de milk, it was good cold too, and tote it up to de B±g House for dinner.

	“I had two chilluns. Dey was named Lou and Eli, and dey was took care of like de rest. U5 useta have some good times. Us could have all de fun us wanted on Sa‘dday nights, and us sho‘ had it, cutting monkeyshines and dancing all night long sometimes. Some would pat and sing, ‘Keys not arunning, Keys not arunrithg,“